Viva dazzled us yet again with another vibrantly energized musical production at The Brook last week.
It was fantastic! ‘Legally Blonde’ was no simple story about a blonde girl proving her worth, it was packed with humour, pathos and easily identifiable characterizations as blonde girl becomes a lawyer learning many home truths on the way.
The music was first class, all singers and instrumentalists producing clear, resonant and wholesome sounds enhancing the plot beautifully while excellent acting, slick staging, glitzy choreography, credible costumes and subtle and effective lighting had us spellbound.
Elle (played by Riley Williams) portrayed this leading part perfectly making a wonderful debut with Viva. She was indeed the stunning face of feminine feminism.
The men in her life, Warner (Dan Lane) and Emmett (Ben Clark) were equally well rounded characters: Warner the wimp from the past: Emmett the stalwart friend waiting in the wings for her to realize he was where her heart should lie.
The cold-hearted egotist Callahan (Joseph Beach) contrasted excellently with Paulette (Eleanor Gillet), the emotionally-driven, moral supporter to Elle.
With Elle’s excellent doe-eyed hankering and Paulette’s outrageous sexual shimmering we were left in no doubt whom they desired.
I’ve never seen such a sexy delivery man before the UPS man (Lee Sherwood) strutted the stage.
He made a larger-than-life gay lover to the untruthful witness Yuri (Jack Wright) too. The exercise motivator Brooke (Hannah Schumann), another strong character and the essential Greek Chorus were additional treats.
Space prevents me from mentioning all the other superb members of the cast, suffice to say, they all contributed magnificently to one of the best Viva productions I’ve ever seen!
Director and producer Dan Schumann and his team are to be congratulated for such a wonderful evening.
As all evening shows were soon booked out, you are advised to book early for their next production, ‘The Dreaming’, at the Hayward Theatre, Ely from August 3 to 5.
Contact vivayouth@hotmail.co.uk or 01353 722228.
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